Pook plays down Ecclestone CART talks

Pook said that he already sees CART as a proven training ground for drivers who want to get to F1. He continued: "And I've said on the record that I'd like to take young drivers out of this series and present them to F1 to see if they can make their way up the ladder. That's got to be the epitome of their careers."

But there was too much speculation and not enough truth in the merger rumours, he said: "All these things are out there and, somehow or another, someone has tried to connect all the dots, and concluded that Bernie Ecclestone is going to take over CART. But he hasn't told me that..."

Pook concluded: "This talk of a merger, quite frankly, has been very flattering from our point of view, but also very embarrassing. Our position is quite clear. We're in the open-wheel racing business. He [Ecclestone] is in the open-wheel racing business. He's got some challenges, we've got some challenges. Our solution is to talk. There are no formal discussions going on about our relationship with F1. Absolutely not. To even use the word 'negotiation' is an overstatement."